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Domains that are parked but not listed for sale

There's this domain that has been parked for at least a few years now, always using a basic registrar placeholder page. I would like to have the domain, but it's not listed for sale, and I tried contacting the owner recently using the WHOIS contact details, but haven't received a response yet. I don't know when or if it will ever expire, because expiration dates in the WHOIS database do not seem to reflect renewal. At the registrar site, there is the option to have the registar contact the current owner on my behalf, but the service is expensive and seems senseless if I already have the owner's contact details. There is also an (initially) cheaper option, which is to backorder the domain to bring it to auction, but I'm not sure if the owner is even alive any more since they haven't responded to my message yet, and entering into an auction with that uncertainty also seems senseless. So what would you recommend in this case?

I'd recommend moving on. If you've contacted the owner with no response, it's perfectly plausible that they don't want to sell the domain and don't feel like engaging in a discussion. I've got a similar domain I'd love to have (my name) and the owner seemingly has been sitting on it for at least 15 years now. He has responded to emails, but just doesn't want to sell it.

I'd recommend moving on. If you've contacted the owner with no response, it's perfectly plausible that they don't want to sell the domain and don't feel like engaging in a discussion. I've got a similar domain I'd love to have (my name) and the owner seemingly has been sitting on it for at least 15 years now. He has responded to emails, but just doesn't want to sell it.

Dave

I guess I may have to resort to that. What's weird is that most of these 'parked but not for sale' domains don't have any particular connection to the owners, and often aren't valuable, memorable or special. Makes one wonder why the owners have them. It's unfair to the many others out there who actually have valid uses for the domains.